Welcome to the latest issue of the VPNC Update. We hope you find the news in this issue valuable.
VPNC is very pleased to introduce a significant new logo to its testing series: IPv6 IPsec. This is the first of three IPv6-related interoperability logos from VPNC; the other two (for IPv6 in IKEv2 and IPv6 in SSL VPNs) will be announced when there are sufficient products to initiate the tests.
The IPv6 IPsec test is for basic IPv6 functionality and interoperability in IKEv1. This test consists of two IPsec gateways that have both internal and external IPv6 addresses setting up a secure tunnel using AES encryption. To pass this test, the gateway must be able to communicate on an all-IPv6 network, and to set up tunnels for protected hosts that are on a different all-IPv6 network. The gateway must be able to act both as an initiator and as a responder.
The products from VPNC members that have passed the IPv6 IPsec interoperability test are:
VPNC members have told us to expect more products for IPv6 interoperability testing in the near future.
The expected shortage of new IPv4 addresses starting in just a few years has caused many organizations to begin serious research for their IPv6 transition and adoption, and most of those organizations already are heavy users of IPsec VPNs. Although the demand for IPv6 is not yet very high in North America, the adoption of IPv6 in Asia and Europe is ramping up. Organizations will want some assurance that their VPN systems will work correctly with IPv6 as they start their deployment, and VPNC now offers real-world interop testing for use of IPv6.
Happy new year! The VPN Consortium is happy to be starting another year of service, and look forward to providing more leadership in the virtual private network market, including much more interoperability testing.
Both the SSL VPN and IPsec VPN markets continued to thrive during 2008. Three members joined VPNC in 2008. Our membership now stands at 28 companies, including nearly all the significant players in the IPsec and SSL VPN markets.
Systems that received the Basic and/or AES interoperability logos for new IPsec systems include those from D-Link, NETGEAR, phion, Secure Computing, SonicWALL, and WatchGuard. Systems that received the IKEv2 interoperability logos were from Mocana and Juniper. New SSL VPN logos went to SonicWALL. About a dozen systems which had significant software upgrades were re-tested and passed the tests. There are now 60 systems with interoperability logos actively being tested and retested in the VPNC lab.
VPNC's members saw two industry trends in 2008 that may show how the industry will go in the coming year or two. The customer demand for IKEv2 continues to be much lower than earlier expected, which has caused many IPsec vendors to hold off on their deployments of IKEv2 in their VPN gateways. The systems that have received the VPNC IKEv2 Basic Interoperability logo are still mostly from OEMs, not commercial vendors; the good news is that the list continues to grow. Some people predicted that 2008 would be the year of the network access control (NAC) system, but that mostly fizzled, with many NAC vendors going out of business or merging with competitors. Instead, the SSL VPN market grew to fill in the ever-increasing need for remote access security.
Looking forward, VPNC plans to start testing for additional interoperability logos in 2009, assuming that there is enough interest from VPNC's members. One logo we certainly hope to start would be for IPv6 under IKEv2. Another possible logo would be for use of certificates for mutual authentication in both IKEv1 and IKEv2. The IPsec industry has had a long love-hate relationship with certificates and interoperability, so this might be a daunting task, but it is one that VPN users consistently request.
By the way, today is the tenth anniversary of the formation of VPNC. We hope to have you still reading this newsletter on our twentieth!
AEP Networks
AEP Networks to Distribute Leading Security Products through Bell Microproducts
Check Point
Check Point Signs Agreement to Acquire Nokia's Security Appliance Business
Cyberoam
Cyberoam UTM Appoints Rednetwork As Its National Distributor For Brazil
Cyberoam
Cyberoam Partners With Seven Seas
D-Link
D-Link Provides Indiana Technology Vendor With Firewall Solution To Boost Uptime
F5
F5 Networks Positioned in Leaders Quadrant of SSL VPN Market Research Report by Noted Analyst Firm
F5
F5 Networks Named Finalist in 2009 SC Magazine Awards Program
IBM ISS
Citing a surge in online cybercrime, IBM bolsters security services
Juniper
Juniper Networks Positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Leading Analyst Firm's SSL VPN Magic Quadrant
Nokia
Nokia signs agreement to sell security appliance business to Check Point Software Technologies
Stonesoft
Stonesoft Named Finalist in 2009 SC Awards Program
WatchGuard
WatchGuard Wins Back-to-Back Editorial Awards
WatchGuard
WatchGuard Named 2009 Hot Companies Finalist by Network Products Guide
The VPNC Update is a low-volume, one-way newsletter to inform people about news in the VPN industry. Subscription is open to everyone, members and non-members alike. Previous issues of the newsletter can be found here. If you have questions about the content of VPNC Update, or suggestions or information for future issues, please send them to Paul Hoffman, VPNC's director.
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